


Healing

by keelhaulrose



Series: Marked [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25584775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keelhaulrose/pseuds/keelhaulrose
Summary: Sometimes the smallest moments offer the most healing.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Hermione Granger
Series: Marked [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1295444
Comments: 3
Kudos: 68
Collections: Hermione's Haven Bingo 2020





	Healing

**Author's Note:**

> Written for #HHBingo2020 my G2 square- Bucky Barnes

Bucky hated his metal arm.

That was not a secret. He had not even tried to hide his hatred of the thing from anyone, as if he could from his rather observant soulmate, Hermione. She tried talking about it a few times with him, but the most he was willing to say to her was that it was uncomfortable. But he was sure she knew the real reason.

It was a reminder of everything bad he had ever done, all the hurt he caused, all the terror in his past.

He didn't want to hear platitudes. No attempts to say that Iron Man had blasted that arm to pieces, that this new one was something different. Because it wasn't, not really. It was newer, stronger, and it didn't have that star.

The star she bore on her shoulder. The one that marked her as his. He wished she had gotten _anything_ but that mark. Every time he saw it on her he felt a little pain in his chest, like she wasn't really his, but the Winter Soldier's. It was ridiculous to think, it had been Hermione who had freed him from that after all, but the symbolism was still there.

And so he hid his hand as much as possible. Long sleeve shirts no matter the weather. Hand in the pocket unless it was in use. He sat on the left side of the couch and slept on the left side of the bed, so when Hermione wanted to cuddle up to him she was only cuddling _his_ arm, not _that_ arm.

That is, until the day he walked into the sitting room after washing the dishes. Hermione had turned on the telly, some cooking show she was only half paying attention to, perched on the left side of the couch. It so took him by surprise that he actually paused in the doorway to try to figure out why she had changed their routine. He opened his mouth to ask her to move, but shut it again. Hermione was not one to change their routine without reason, so, curiosity bubbling inside him, he took the seat on the right side of the couch.

Immediately Hermione slid over next to him. Without a word she reached over, gently coaxing his metal hand from his pocket. She didn't say a word as she assumed the position she normally took on his other side, holding his hand in both of hers, gently running her thumb over his as she watched the show as normal. He couldn't stop watching her as her thumb slid across the metal, her fingers adjusting slightly until they were perfectly comfortable. She had to know he couldn't feel the motions, so why was she doing this?

After a few minutes she let go of his hand and moved so she was lying down, her head resting on his leg. And it was then that it hit him- Hermione was treating his metal arm the way she would treat his normal arm. She was trying to normalize it. For a second he felt anger course through him. For all she was, Hermione was still a healer, and sometimes that meant she tried to heal what shouldn't be healed. This arm would never be healed. He would keep it, he needed it, but it would forever be an unwanted appendage he was saddled with. His instinct was to stand up and see her reaction, but he couldn't do it. Even if the arm wasn't going to be healed he realized that was never the goal, the goal was to heal his attitude towards it. Hermione was treating it like the rest of him, something with a terrible past that could be soothed.

And so he did what he normally did with his other hand. He reached down and started running the metal fingers through her hair. He couldn't feel the soft strands winding around the digits, but he didn't care. Hermione reached up and took a hold of his metal hand, brought it in front of her face, and pressed a kiss to it before returning it to its place in her hair.

Bucky closed his eyes and allowed himself a sad smile. The pain was still there, but this was the first step towards healing.


End file.
